Last day of hols and while I’m updating this from home, I still wanted to compete the diary for our third and final day in London.

We woke up this morning, got ready and packed. It was raining so this scuppered our plans but we decided to head for the Museums. First we started with the V&A but the girls (and us really) just weren’t interested. Instead we headed for the National History Museum and while this was much better, it was so busy that we only lasted an hour before leaving.

We caught the tube to Kings Cross Station, just to make sure we were there on time, then headed out for lunch. We settled on Subway, with the plan of takeaway for dinner when we got home. After Subway we went back into the station and after some deliberation we queued for the Harry Potter 9 and 3/4 photo shoot. It took the whole hour we had spare and so then we caught our train and traveled back to Newark.

Mum picked us up from the station and it was chucking it down with rain! We got back to her house and then Chris drove us back home. We unpacked, ordered takeaway and settled in for the night. That’s where I am now. We’ve eaten takeaway and the girls are on their computers. I’m making my way through emails and browsing the net! It’s been a good weekend.

Yesterday we had chinese take-away for dinner and Chris decided he would teach the girls how to use chop sticks. They didn’t really manage it but they definitely had fun trying. I just stuck with a fork!

It’s been a crazy busy week and it still hasn’t finished being crazy! As I write this, its Wednesday afternoon (though no doubt I’ll backdate) but as you can see, I’m massively behind. For the most part, this week hasn’t had that many major points of interest, so I’m going to make this a bit quicker than normal. I’ll still try to cover the whole week though!

Monday was a school day and Chris was at work. However Megan had a school trip that I was also going on and as such we dropped Lily off early at her Grandma’s, went on the school trip (all day) and were back for 5pm. Megs and I had a lovely day at Twycross Zoo but I was exhausted in the evening. I didn’t do anything other than lie and watch TV! The next day was luckily a lazy day. I needed things from town so I walked in, but I got plenty done, caught up on blogging and even housework too. Wednesday I finally picked up my new kettle (I ordered it and then it got lost – don’t ask!) and also went back into town with Chris as he had an Opticians appointment. Sadly I wasn’t feeling very well (something that had come on the night before) so I didn’t end up doing much constructive.

By Thursday I was feeling better and a lot more productive. My new sewing machine foot arrived (after I lost the last one) and so I got to sewing in the evening, making Megan a Ravenclaw pencil case. Also in the mail that day was a new Thomas Kinkade canvas that I’d ordered – technically to replace a duplicate gift I’d received from Nat. We had a note through the door about Dominos opening and I knew it would be bad! So bad that we actually ended up ordering that very same evening and again over the weekend. It was amazing though but so expensive!

The next day was Friday and Nat and I started a DIY project on my bedroom. We covered all the furniture and stripped the ceiling paper, before starting to paint the walls. I posted about it on Twice the Mum. The rest of the weekend was spent working on the bedroom too. Chris and I spent both days, all day, of the weekend, sorting out the room. Sadly it still isn’t done but we’re getting there. Not much else happened over the weekend though the kids at least managed to relax.

This week is looking like it will be busy busy busy, at least for the next few days. I have a Murder Mystery to write, some sewing to do, some blog posts to sort out and of course my bedroom to finish decorating. I really hope to get on top of the vital things straight away as I’d love to get on with the things I want to do, rather than those I feel I have to do!

As you may or may not have noticed, I didn’t update last week with my “Get Fit Friday” post. Part of that was because I was busy all day, but part of it is because I just stayed the same at my weigh-in. It’s not that I was disappointed – the opposite really as I’d expected to gain – but really that I wasn’t in the mood for making excuses or saying I’d try harder next week etc. Last week was very similar to most weeks, whereby I tend to eat badly either the Friday or Saturday – not necessarily deliberately, but its usually when celebrations or days out occur – and then I try hard for the remaining days of the week, usually resulting in a weight loss. Friday I had Pizza Hut Express in Meadowhall, though I’m sure I walked off majority of those calories anyway. However Chris and I then had Chinese takeaway for dinner. On Saturday it was my sister’s birthday celebration and for that I had burger and chips, with onion rings and coleslaw. I didn’t manage it all but I know it was a bad day calories wise. After that I tried hard for Sunday and Monday but I really hit a stumbling block on the Tuesday. I felt tired, completely lacking in energy and a huge craving for chocolate. No matter what I tried to eat during the day, I just felt unsatisfied. Not to mention sticking to 950 calories is very limiting, especially with the amount of tea I drink. Anyway long and short of it, Chris and I ordered takeaway and we really bombed out on our diet. There was donner meat, cheese burger, cheesy garlic bread pizza, chicken goujons, cheesy chips and onion rings. I honestly stuffed my face to the point of being disgusting but it was so good and exactly what I needed. I felt so much better afterwards and even for the next few days. I guess my body was just craving some fatty foods.

Anyway, despite being good after that, I maintained my 11 stone 2lbs weight from the week before and like I say, I wasn’t disappointed, I was actually surprised. That’s not to say I wasn’t disappointed in myself though and as such I decided not to post and make a ton of excuses. This week has been much better. Friday I was good, even after weigh-in. Saturday Chris had offered to make burgers for dinner and so I deliberately ate a light lunch and then even went without chips or buns on my burgers, just to limit the calories some.

This was Chris’ dinner, not mine!

Sunday and Monday I was fine too, though Tuesday and Wednesday we ended up with takeaway (bad days) but I was very good with the amount I had. Last night it was Lily’s birthday and we went out for Pizza Express dinner. I only had some dough balls and a pizza and even the pizza I only made my way through half before being too full to eat. This morning I got up and weighed myself and was surprised by the results. I won’t say it was a good result, but it definitely was a nice surprise.

So yeah, I put on 1lb this week but honestly after what I’ve eaten the last three days, its not really a surprise. I hope that by eating better today I might just wake up and have lost that extra pound again, but we’ll see. I’ve got no real reason to eat badly this weekend, or this week, and next weigh-in falls just before Lily’s party day and Amy’s lunch out at Damons. Fingers crossed for a loss this week, as I don’t hold out much hope for the following one!

Last week I was really organised and wrote my round-up post as the week went on. However with a crazy busy week last week, that’s gone out of the window this time! I feel rushed and busy, like I don’t have time for everything I need to do – and I know it will be a couple more weeks before that improves. In fact, as such I might not be blogging much for a while.

Monday to Friday was work and school for everyone! It’s so weird having Chris work normal 9-5 hours (well 8.45 – 5.30 anyway). He started his new job at BT on Monday and I’m pleased to report he’s loving it. Me on the other hand…. well let’s just not talk about it!

On Monday, the girls had Singing Stars after school and so I got the weekly shop at Aldi’s done before heading to mum’s for a cup of tea. I then picked the girls up from school and headed home. We watched I’m a Celebrity when we got home, at the same time as working on their “Disney craft project”. Afterwards I spent the evening sewing, very close to getting Amy’s Snow White costume done! The next day my brother came around in the evening and so not much really got done (other than hanging out the washing, dishwasher etc.). We watched three episodes of OUAT but we’re still two behind (three now). I think he’ll be coming this week too, in order to catch up properly.

Wednesday it was Nat’s turn to visit. I finished off the Snow White costume and then started on her Aurora one. I’d had the crazy idea to dye pink into blue to make it look like her dress was changing colour and the two of us were dying pink at 11pm that night! Thursday was sort of a relax day – Nat got some great news (which unfortunately I can’t share with you!), I treated Chris and I to Chinese for dinner and then we spent the evening hanging out and watching TV. It was well overdue since it seemed like I’d seen everyone but him in the previous days. However I knew I had the following day to crack on with costumes and writing Megan’s party, as the girls’ dad was having them the following night.

I was very glad to see Friday. It was a long and busy week and I was looking forward to a still busy, but no work weekend. I dropped the kids off at school with their overnight bags for stopping at their dad’s and headed to work. Afterwards Kristy and I went into town and I treated her to her first ever Starbucks Red Cup! We then wandered around H&M and Primark before heading home. Once I’d dropped off Kristy and got home myself, Chris text to say he was leaving work early. However he called ten minutes later to say he’d been knocked off his bike (again). I jumped in e car and headed back to Lincoln. Long story short, he was hit through no fault of his own and we had to wait ninety minutes for recovery of his bike. We got home for about 8pm and neither of us felt up to doing anything. We managed an hour or so of watching TV before eventually heading to bed. That was my planned evening to get stuff done and it all went out the window!

We woke at 8am the next day, even though e kids weren’t in and we didn’t have work. I ended up starting to sew, just to catch up some time. At 9.30am Chris called e bike garage and arranged for someone to come look at the damage on his bike. We then headed out to pick the girls up from their dad and then head to mum’s for lunch. While mum helped Megan with her homework, I attempted to work on Megan’s mystery party. I didn’t really get very far though and before we knew it we were sitting down to eat and then heading home. Once we got back, the girls and I had I’m a Celebrity to catch up on. Megan hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and she took a definite dip. In the end Lily and I were the only ones who headed out to see the Christmas Lights be switched on in Gainsborough. Lily had a hot dog and I had some pizza, we also bought candy floss. The lights were disappointing and not as good as the year before – I also missed it not being all four of us. When Lily and I got back, Megan was asleep on the sofa but she stirred not long after. She managed some sausage roll and candy floss but then both girls went to bed. Chris and I spent the rest of he evening together as I was too tired to do anything of importance. I did manage to get some things ordered for both Nat and Megan’s parties though.

Finally it was Sunday and a day with nothing planned at all! The girls wanted to watch X Factor and I’m a Celebrity so I set up my sewing machine in the lounge, hoping to sew AND watch TV. While I did get both done, my concentration wasn’t at it’s best. I made numerous mistakes – one of which was quite humourous in that I stitched a sleeve on upside down! It all got a little stressful at times but I stuck with it all day. I called takeaway for dinner and we all shared that together. I eventually gave up sewing at about 11pm and headed to bed. I now have Megan’s pretty much completed (bar some details) and Nat’s is well on it’s way.

This week has been okay, but very stressful in the sense of “sew” much to do and so little time. In all honesty, the only way I’m going to make it through this coming week and maybe even the next, is to take a bit of a backseat when it comes to blogging. This evening I’ve had Nat round, Tuesday will be my brother, Thursday is Parent’s Evening and Nat’s birthday and before I know it, Saturday and Nat’s party will be here. I can’t honestly say I’ll be posting anything at all this week, so it may well be Sunday before my next 52 Project appears and then Monday with my round-up. Please forgive me for taking a break this week but if I don’t, my sanity might snap altogether! I look forward to updating you all with my costumes soon though!

Those of you who follow Twice the Mum will know that Nat and I have been considering giving something up – or stopping something for October. While the “Stoptober” campaign itself is designed for people giving up smoking, this October it does seem to be motivating people to stop a variety of things. Earlier in the week, I posted about my options for what I might stop. In the end, I couldn’t decide which to go for and took the plunge to actually accomplish them all!

The things I’m stopping include; eating Chocolate, Sweets & Cake, eating/ordering Takeaway, Drinking (alcohol), Spending (like a spending ban), Being Lazy and Using Tiredness as an Excuse. I will be doing all of them for the whole of October and as it goes on, I’ll be updating you as to how I get on.

There are some obvious reasons for some of them but basically there is a logic to each. For chocolate, sweets, cake and takeaway -the advantage is mostly weight loss, but also to help with finances. I don’t drink an awful lot anyway but I figured I’d throw it in for good measure – that said I will be drinking on 31st as we’re having a party and its the first one in months! The enforced spending ban is really to help me save and get on top of finances (especially with Christmas and Florida coming up fast) though I won’t be including anything I buy for Christmas. That said, I will be trying to postpone Christmas shopping, just to get on top of what I have already and what I still need to get. Finally, with regards to not being lazy and not using tiredness as an excuse, I plan to get more on top of things, spend less time procrastinating and hopefully get some organisation into my life! I also want to make the most of my spare time, instead of sitting around thinking about how tired I am.

When I mentioned my plans to the kids a few days ago, I was greeted with a great response. In fact, both of the girls wanted to participate too. Though they were unsure what to do, they finally decided on giving up sweets and chocolate as an after dinner treat. Megan says she’ll be giving up sweets altogether. I have promised them both that if they actually accomplish it, I’ll give them £10 each at the end of the month. As well as that, I’ll be moving them both up their reward chart one spot for each successful day.

Although its only “Day One”, I’m feeling good and I’m feeling motivated. I’ve behaved myself at work and while I haven’t eaten dinner yet, I’ve got no intention of eating junk! As well as that, I’ve gotten on with today’s post early on (that’s this one!) and I plan to spend the rest of the evening writing out a meal plan for the week, then a sort of blog schedule so I know when I’m working on my blog and when I have spare time. Finally I’m going to make sure I use my spare time to spend time with Chris and the girls (preferably not just watching TV), catching up on household jobs, reading and getting on top of everything I’ve been saying “I’ll do it soon…” to. I’m pleased to say that today was a good start, as before I even headed to work I managed to get all the washing hung out!

I intend to update weekly so look out for my first Stoptober update on Sunday!

It’s that time of the week again – Monday Round-up. It’s been a busy and tiring week, despite not a lot going on. Full week back at school/work for everyone and its definitely taken its toll. Chris has had some really shitty shifts, all day or evenings, so we’ve barely seen each other. The kids after school clubs hadn’t started yet though so at least its been a fairly normal week with regards to hours (if you don’t count the fact I finished work late almost every day!).

Anyway, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday there really wasn’t anything of special note. Thursday the kids were with their dad after school and so Chris and I had some of the evening to ourselves. We hung out and ordered takeaway – it was a really nice evening. Friday was really the same as the other three evenings, except for the fact we were celebrating making it through yet another week (only 5 till I’m off again, woo!). The kids and I hung out and it was really nice, letting them both go a little later to bed than normal and just enjoying being together.

Saturday was a really strange day. I woke up with a headache and sadly it didn’t shift all day. I tried to relax on my computer in the morning but that didn’t help so I went for a bath. My headache lifted slightly but it didn’t go and as soon as I was back in the lounge, it pretty much came back again. I did manage to clean the shower though so that was a plus. We decided to try and tackle homework and so Lily, Megan and I moved to the dining table. I started working on a dress pattern, while Megan started homework and Lily drew a picture. It wasn’t long after when my mum arrived, as she’d said she might pop in for a while. Crazily, she was still there 6 hours later… after homework was done, takeaway was ordered and Nat arrived! Luckily it had taken my mind off my headache somewhat but I was also feeling fairly rotten. A girlie night with Nat was just what I needed though and after a good chat and Nat leaving at just gone midnight, I headed to bed, completely exhausted!

Sunday Chris was finally off and we had a day together as a family. We headed into Gainsborough in the morning as Chris had keys to drop off and I wanted to go to Wilkos. We ended up wandering a little and getting sausage rolls from Greggs. When we got back, there was loads of house stuff to do like the dishwasher, hanging out washing, sorting washing etc. After all of that, we ended up tidying and hoovering! It was such a fun day, haha. In the end, the kids and I spent the afternoon watching more Winx and finally when they headed to bed, I spent the evening watching One Tree Hill and doing the ironing. Strangely enough, it was a really nice day – despite how it sounds.

Other than that, I’ve really started working on Christmas presents. I’m making a whole host of dresses and clothes for various people and I’ve started to look at patterns and materials. I’ve also started to build up some clothes purchases for the girls. Their main Christmas gift this year will be a suitcase full of summer clothes for Florida! On top of that, I’ve purchased my mum’s gift and part of my brother’s. I’ve order Nat’s birthday present and my mind is busy working on everything else I need to get. As soon as they’re all out of the way its save save SAVE so I really need to get cracking and organised.

Not much else is new – I’ve been pretty tired so that’s stopped a lot of things. To be honest I haven’t even taken any pictures to intersperse in this post! I do want to work more on my jewellery and generally on craft stuff. I’ll update you as soon as there is news!

So my first week of my school holiday is over. Sadly it wasn’t a great one! I was ill for the whole thing. Completely dying at the beginning and lingering on by the end. I honestly can’t believe it lasted all week. That said, it had some good moments, lots of takeaway and plenty of catching up with the kids.

Monday the girls school reports came out and they were excellent. Megan completely excels and is working about 2 years ahead of her age. Lily, who always used to struggle, is now all caught up and working really hard at the level she should be. I’m really proud of them both!

The rest of the week wasn’t really that memorable so I can’t really tell you what else happened for the most part. I grabbed coffee with my friend Jon on Wednesday but otherwise not much! I do know that I had some amazing takeaway (far too much actually) from a restaurant called Florentine’s in Gainsborough. They do this amazing pizza burger and we had it with cheese and bacon. It was so good… we had it two days running. Tut tut, I know!

On Thursday I was with Nat all day. She was having a tooth extracted at 2pm and so we hung out for the day. Unfortunately she was pretty terrified for the majority of it and the actual extraction wasn’t great either. It was nice having some time together though. We were home from the dentist around 3.30pm but we didn’t do anything other than sit and chat as Nat wasn’t allowed to. We spent the evening together and then Nat even stayed over. The following day Nat wasn’t allowed to do anything until 3pm anyway so I left her under Chris’ watch when I took the girls to school and then came back to hang out again.

After school on Friday I went to the girls Business and Enterprise Week at their school. They’d spent all week making all sorts of things from cards and bookmarks, to loombands, pizza and cake. It was a bit of a shambles to be honest but it was nice to support the school. We bought a couple of cakes, a couple of biscuits and my mum even got a slice of pizza.

Other noteable things were winning a competition with Lipcote, that I’m sure I’ll post about in the future. I also read “The Fault in Our Stars”. I dragged the kids to a carboot sale one day. Watched Deathnote (movie rather than animation). I finished Orange is the New Black and then went on to where I left off in Gossip Girl. That pretty much sums up my week!

I’m feeling much better now and I’m looking forward to this coming week. Sadly I have a lot to do but fingers crossed I’ll get it all sorted! Till then…

Edit:Also wanted to add my Nerd Block arrived this week, as did the Summer Edition of my Discovery Box. The girls gave me a makeover on Saturday night and on Sunday we got the whole garden cleared!

I am absolutely exhausted writing this post! For some reason, its been such a tiring week – from beginning to end. Even on Monday, when nothing much had happened, I was already feeling knackered. I remember thinking, “how on earth will I make it through the week?” Somehow I did though and it was such a great week. Here is a little more about it….

Monday to Friday were work days as normal. I also worked Thursday night. However it was a funny sort of a work week in all. Monday was our school Sports Day at work and because of that, half the kitchen staff were out in the afternoon. I was left with my boss, with potatoes to peel and pots to wash so it went quite slowly. As the girls had an after school club, I went for a wander into town – popped into Lush to talk about the blog meet, went to Co-op Headquarters to collect their blog meet offerings and then headed to get the girls. Driving home was the first time it hit me how tired I already was! By the time Thursday came around (and I knew I was working the evening shift) I wondered if I would actually make it through the day. Not only that but we had a WHOLE day of cleaning at work, followed by me walking into town (down and then back up Steep Hill), collecting face/body cleanser pots from Lush and shopping at Primark, all before doing my evening shift. Normally I would be glad that Friday had come and work was over but I had a very busy weekend ahead too!

Before I get to that though, a few other things from the week itself. Monday was the GoT finale and wow was it great! There is a part of me that feels disappointed at GoT finale because they don’t really do cliffhangers, but at the same time there is something to be said for tying off loose ends and leaving you prepared and waiting for the next season.

Tuesday was my girls’ Sports Day and for the first time ever in their lives, I had to miss it because of work. I didn’t think it would bother me as much as it did but in the end, after kissing them goodbye at school, I drove to work in floods of tears. Not only could I not make it, my mum was away and their Grandma was busy too. Luckily at the very last minute, Andrea (their Grandma) was able to make it and while she missed Lily’s races in the morning, she was at least able to have lunch with them both and watch Megan’s races in the afternoon. My Project 52 photograph was from Andrea this week.

Wednesday was Weight Loss Wednesday (as always, over at Twice The Mum). I lost another pound this week, giving me a total loss of 11 pounds over about 12 weeks I think. Ironically though I don’t actually feel any different for it. Neither thinner or healthier. I suppose I do feel a bit more motivated though, so that’s a bonus. By the time we go to Floriday next year I really want to have lost my 3 stone. Wednesday was also Lily’s assembly and I was luckily able to go. The assembly was about nocturnal animals and it was very good!

While the whole week was full of Blog Meet planning and organising, Thursday was by far the main day for me. Not only did I pick up a whole bunch of stuff from town, I also had to try and find a replacement speaker for the afternoon of the meet. Though I didn’t know till the next day, I luckily managed it and it all turned out okay, but it was a bit manic at the time! Not only that but I treated myself and did some shopping. I went to Primark and bought five t-shirts! There were both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tees so I had to get one for each of the girls, one for myself and of course I didn’t want Amy to miss out so one for her too. I also found a cute little mint satchel bag, only to then visit Asda Living and find another one I like and buy that too!

Friday was the last day of work but also the day when Amy arrived to finalise and sort out our Blog Meet for the next day. She arrived at around 6.30pm and once the kids were in bed we treated ourselves to takeaway burgers, already knowing it was going to be a hectic evening. Though we probably didn’t crack on as hard and as fast as we should have, we did get started on everything and spent the whole evening sorting out and organising. Sadly it was 2.30am before we finished and it was 3am before I went to bed! Saturday we were both up about 7am though and after we got ourselves ready we had hit the road by about 8.20am.

I won’t go into too much detail about the Blog Meet itself as I will be making several posts about it during the coming week and probably even more posts after that about the products I have to try out! However Amy and I were in town from about 9am, grabbed ourselves coffee and went to meet everyone. We were then busy solidly through till 3pm when everyone disappeared off and we grabbed ourselves more coffee. By the time we had picked up all the kids and got ourselves home, it was 5.30pm. We then had dinner to get for the kids, get them to bed and even then we weren’t done with Blog Meet stuff! We sat down and took photos of all our goodies, along with making up some extra goody bags to give away over the coming weeks on our joint blogs. After all that was done, we were absolutely drained. We were so naughty and treated ourselves to takeaway for a second day running – this time pizza – but it was amazing and so worth it!

Sunday morning we were all still tired when we got up. We really did nothing all day until Amy had to go catch her train. I dropped her off and then headed over to mum’s, taking all my material and patterns for my Comic Con costume. She helped me sort out what pieces I needed, how she thought I should tackle the alterations I want to make to the patterns and even arranged times when we could get together if I got stuck doing it by myself. It was late as the kids and I left so I treated them to McDonalds to eat on the way home and then when we got back I put them straight to bed. The evening was supposed to be spent getting organising, blogging etc but unfortunately my brain just wouldn’t function. I ended up going through pictures on Facebook that I was tagged in, saving them and re-uploading them to a folder of my own! I headed to bed about 11.30pm and just hoped for the best!

It’s been a great week and even though I was so tired, it was all worth it. I can’t wait to tell you all about the Blog Meet but for now I’m going to add this link up here! Everyone who attended the LincsBlogMeet, I would love if you would add your links! I will be adding this link up to the bottom of all of my posts over the next week or so, so don’t worry if you’re not adding your link right now!